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Post by smiler52 on May 16, 2013 22:43:45 GMT
All i can say is the bus with no roofs in Central London. The reason it does not accept Oyster cards -.- yeah but they are for tourist to see London by open top
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Post by sw11simon on May 17, 2013 5:02:38 GMT
The N37, when SW had it, was very boring overnight. The running time was plentiful meaning kerb crawling practically all the way. It was the only night route where I didn't mind the WVL over the PDL Trident. I'd probably second that if I'd have done it much. Only driven it twice, once from SW and once from PM, both on Saturday nights. However, made it on time then and it has the same cycle times every night. I can imagine how slow the driving would be on a Sunday-Thursday. I did used to hate hanging around waiting for my time. Although it is one of my favourite routes, driving a 185 between Victoria and Camberwell in the middle of the day is tedious due to excess running time, especially when you are changing drivers.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2013 12:17:31 GMT
I am surprised no one has said the 66, the worst journey ever.
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Post by vjaska on May 17, 2013 12:36:13 GMT
I am surprised no one has said the 66, the worst journey ever. Why, majority of the route runs along 50mph. Ride the 109 and you'll find a boring route
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Post by M1104 on May 17, 2013 14:02:23 GMT
The N37, when SW had it, was very boring overnight. The running time was plentiful meaning kerb crawling practically all the way. It was the only night route where I didn't mind the WVL over the PDL Trident. I'd probably second that if I'd have done it much. Only driven it twice, once from SW and once from PM, both on Saturday nights. However, made it on time then and it has the same cycle times every night. I can imagine how slow the driving would be on a Sunday-Thursday. I used to leave up to seven minutes late from Putney Heath during the weekday twilight hours, reaching Wandsworth about three minutes late, Clapham Junction and Common more or less on time and Brixton Town Hall about two minutes early. After then it's first and second gears only to East Dulwich then from Peckham Rye i'd push the pedal as normal reaching Peckham Bus Station about five minutes early. The return journey was more or less the same driving technique except that I never left Peckham as late as seven minutes...more like four minutes. Still always crawled it to Clapham Common on time from both directions. Whenever I saw an N37 duty coming up on my rota I would try my best to swap it for an N77 (now N87) as that route was the opposite...much more enjoyable long run of a route where it's pedal to the metal else you're late.
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Post by sw11simon on May 17, 2013 17:45:07 GMT
I'd probably second that if I'd have done it much. Only driven it twice, once from SW and once from PM, both on Saturday nights. However, made it on time then and it has the same cycle times every night. I can imagine how slow the driving would be on a Sunday-Thursday. I used to leave up to seven minutes late from Putney Heath during the weekday twilight hours, reaching Wandsworth about three minutes late, Clapham Junction and Common more or less on time and Brixton Town Hall about two minutes early. After then it's first and second gears only to East Dulwich then from Peckham Rye i'd push the pedal as normal reaching Peckham Bus Station about five minutes early. The return journey was more or less the same driving technique except that I never left Peckham as late as seven minutes...more like four minutes. Still always crawled it to Clapham Common on time from both directions. Whenever I saw an N37 duty coming up on my rota I would try my best to swap it for an N77 (now N87) as that route was the opposite...much more enjoyable long run of a route where it's pedal to the metal else you're late. Did the N77 quite a bit, although the rota I was on generally only did one early trip into London from Tolworth or the last one out of London. Covered nights quite often in those days (mid 90's) and the N44 was very yawn inducing on its old Sutton to Mitcham route. Picked someone up once over that section! (bar the cleaners' run anyway)
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Post by Connor on May 17, 2013 19:00:31 GMT
I am surprised no one has said the 66, the worst journey ever. Why, majority of the route runs along 50mph. Ride the 109 and you'll find a boring route Too many bus stops on the 109 in my opinion. Often the 109 will stop at every single bus stop, even if only 1 person if boarding/alighting. Brixton Water Lane, Holmewood Road, Mount Ephraim Road, Streatham United Reformed Church, Heathview Road, Langdale Road, Dunheved Road North and Montague Road are some of the stops that could removed without too much problem, either because of low usage or other stops very nearby.
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Post by vjaska on May 17, 2013 22:52:00 GMT
Why, majority of the route runs along 50mph. Ride the 109 and you'll find a boring route Too many bus stops on the 109 in my opinion. Often the 109 will stop at every single bus stop, even if only 1 person if boarding/alighting. Brixton Water Lane, Holmewood Road, Mount Ephraim Road, Streatham United Reformed Church, Heathview Road, Langdale Road, Dunheved Road North and Montague Road are some of the stops that could removed without too much problem, either because of low usage or other stops very nearby. Too many stops isn't the problem, it's the traffic in Streatham and along the entire London Road that's the problem. I can tell you from living in the Brixton Hill area for 20 years that Brixton Water Lane & Holmewood Road stops are well used and should not be removed under any circumstances what so ever! In fact, all the stops along Brixton Hill are well used. In a way, you have a point regarding the Mount Ephraim Road stop but you've chosen the wrong pair of stops to remove. The Kingscourt Road stops are less used than the Mount Ephraim Road stops and so could be removed. I agree regarding the Dunheved Road North stops as well. However, the other stops are fine as they are.
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Post by M1104 on May 18, 2013 11:23:08 GMT
I used to leave up to seven minutes late from Putney Heath during the weekday twilight hours, reaching Wandsworth about three minutes late, Clapham Junction and Common more or less on time and Brixton Town Hall about two minutes early. After then it's first and second gears only to East Dulwich then from Peckham Rye i'd push the pedal as normal reaching Peckham Bus Station about five minutes early. The return journey was more or less the same driving technique except that I never left Peckham as late as seven minutes...more like four minutes. Still always crawled it to Clapham Common on time from both directions. Whenever I saw an N37 duty coming up on my rota I would try my best to swap it for an N77 (now N87) as that route was the opposite...much more enjoyable long run of a route where it's pedal to the metal else you're late. Did the N77 quite a bit, although the rota I was on generally only did one early trip into London from Tolworth or the last one out of London. Covered nights quite often in those days (mid 90's) and the N44 was very yawn inducing on its old Sutton to Mitcham route. Picked someone up once over that section! (bar the cleaners' run anyway) Yes, the N44 was literally a yawn for me too as I, on more than one occasion, would take a snooze at Sutton during the twilight arrivals. There was about twenty minutes official stand time, nearly thirty in practice considering I'd arrive early and leave late. The number of times I had overslept on the stand. The worst was when I woke up when I was due northbound at Mitcham. I nearly S**t myself thinking of all the complaints I was going to get for my punctuality, but fortunately I had a fast bus and not a soul to pick up till I reached Tooting Broadway... by which time I was suprisingly only five minutes late. I must admit that despite my slight worry I enjoyed thrashing that PDL throughout three boroughs to catch up with time. For me the best part of the N44 was the last trip in/out of town as it's like the N77 where you don't really have time to stop, especially as there's more traffic, more punters and traffic lights now phased to rush hour conditions.
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Post by Alex on May 18, 2013 14:01:56 GMT
The worst was when I woke up when I was due northbound at Mitcham. I nearly S**t myself thinking of all the complaints I was going to get for my punctuality, but fortunately I had a fast bus and not a soul to pick up till I reached Tooting Broadway... by which time I was suprisingly only five minutes late. I must admit that despite my slight worry I enjoyed thrashing that PDL throughout three boroughs to catch up with time. Ha ha ;D That made me smile. Were the PDLs good buses? I only ever recall riding on one (on the N87) and I was a 'bit tired' and probably not taking as much notice as I should have done. Some on the net seem to think they weren't very good (and hence withdrawn) but it'd be cool to hear an opinion from someone who drove them! As for the N44 and the stand time in Sutton, this was the basis I had for an idea (kind of which has cropped up in this thread already), I was thinking of sending the N44 via the 118 route (a change from the N133 idea mentioned earlier) to Morden, then via St. Helier Avenue to Sutton - by my workings out it could be done with no extra PVR (as the stand in Sutton gets shortened to make up for it) and kills two birds with one stone with connections at Morden - a new direct night link to Mitcham and Sutton in one. Was looking at Bishopswood Road, but with the N44 serving both ends, and of course St. Helier Avenue not too far away, there would still be reasonable access to a night bus. I would agree though, that the plan wouldn't be very good for night drivers having a quick rest in Sutton
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Post by vjaska on May 18, 2013 14:44:45 GMT
The worst was when I woke up when I was due northbound at Mitcham. I nearly S**t myself thinking of all the complaints I was going to get for my punctuality, but fortunately I had a fast bus and not a soul to pick up till I reached Tooting Broadway... by which time I was suprisingly only five minutes late. I must admit that despite my slight worry I enjoyed thrashing that PDL throughout three boroughs to catch up with time. Ha ha ;D That made me smile. Were the PDLs good buses? I only ever recall riding on one (on the N87) and I was a 'bit tired' and probably not taking as much notice as I should have done. Some on the net seem to think they weren't very good (and hence withdrawn) but it'd be cool to hear an opinion from someone who drove them! As for the N44 and the stand time in Sutton, this was the basis I had for an idea (kind of which has cropped up in this thread already), I was thinking of sending the N44 via the 118 route (a change from the N133 idea mentioned earlier) to Morden, then via St. Helier Avenue to Sutton - by my workings out it could be done with no extra PVR (as the stand in Sutton gets shortened to make up for it) and kills two birds with one stone with connections at Morden - a new direct night link to Mitcham and Sutton in one. Was looking at Bishopswood Road, but with the N44 serving both ends, and of course St. Helier Avenue not too far away, there would still be reasonable access to a night bus. I would agree though, that the plan wouldn't be very good for night drivers having a quick rest in Sutton The PDL's were lovely buses, particularly the X reg PDL1-13 & 02 reg PDL14-28. The X reg sounded slightly more smoother than Stagecoach X reg Tridents but the 02 reg were the best. They had the rare combo of a 3 spd Voith box with a Euro III engine which makes them far more beasty than the 03 reg PDL's which were 4 spd Voith with a Euro III engine. The 02 reg also had the 'Bus stopping at next bus stop, please stand well clear of doors' which at the time was a neat touch. They are sorely missed.
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Post by M1104 on May 18, 2013 15:22:51 GMT
The worst was when I woke up when I was due northbound at Mitcham. I nearly S**t myself thinking of all the complaints I was going to get for my punctuality, but fortunately I had a fast bus and not a soul to pick up till I reached Tooting Broadway... by which time I was suprisingly only five minutes late. I must admit that despite my slight worry I enjoyed thrashing that PDL throughout three boroughs to catch up with time. Ha ha ;D That made me smile. Were the PDLs good buses? I only ever recall riding on one (on the N87) and I was a 'bit tired' and probably not taking as much notice as I should have done. Some on the net seem to think they weren't very good (and hence withdrawn) but it'd be cool to hear an opinion from someone who drove them! As for the N44 and the stand time in Sutton, this was the basis I had for an idea (kind of which has cropped up in this thread already), I was thinking of sending the N44 via the 118 route (a change from the N133 idea mentioned earlier) to Morden, then via St. Helier Avenue to Sutton - by my workings out it could be done with no extra PVR (as the stand in Sutton gets shortened to make up for it) and kills two birds with one stone with connections at Morden - a new direct night link to Mitcham and Sutton in one. Was looking at Bishopswood Road, but with the N44 serving both ends, and of course St. Helier Avenue not too far away, there would still be reasonable access to a night bus. I would agree though, that the plan wouldn't be very good for night drivers having a quick rest in Sutton ;D To be honest the PDLs were both good and bad buses: * Good because they're powerful work horses with their muscled 8.3L engines coupled to Voith, like with Stagecoach's 17/18000 series Tridents. * Bad because of cab discomfort with their inclined foot pedals, causing knee pains in the long run. That was the main, if not the only reason, why most SW drivers didn't like them. They gave me knee pains as well if I didn't do my usual stretches between journeys at the bus stand. The best PDLs were the 03 reg ones, though they had the slowest doors. With Bishopswood Road quite a number of punters get on the last two Aldwych bound buses, which are often well loaded before Mitcham Fair Green. I had stopped at every northbound stop along that road whenever it's after 04:00hrs.
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Post by Mokujin on Jan 27, 2014 18:47:10 GMT
I have to nominate route 199. It is so short and boring and the only exciting section is between Pepys Estate and Canada Water as the Enviro400s can thrash along the corners of Pepys. 199 is okay at night though when there are less people on the road as the bus goes faster.
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Post by Nathan on Jan 27, 2014 19:01:59 GMT
- The 129 is pretty short, boring and just pointless. There are already a range of different transport links from Greenwich to the O2 and in between. - As mentioned, the 415 is pretty dull. But on the other hand, I LOVE the 417. Drivers always tend to drive fast whenever I board the route, which makes it fun. - The 6 and 98 are boring to me. Both are always congested with traffic. But I do like going through Maida Vale on the 6.
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Post by Green Kitten on Jan 27, 2014 19:15:28 GMT
Apart from the nice bits at Stratford City... the 97 is a snorefest - traffic infested dreariness everywhere.
I did the route end to end twice. Never again.
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